Lalitpur

Lalitpur is at a distance of 5 km from Kathmandu. Malla kings ruled, lived and worshiped in Lalitpur and that is why its Darbar Square in Patan is surrounded on all four side by inspiring temples and shrines built specifically in relation to the palace. The square itself is a study of the various styles of architecture that have made their homes in this courtyard. If there were any truth in the story that King Ashoka erected the four stupas next to the palace, it would make Patan the oldest existing Buddhist city. Until recently, Patan was its own entity, and travelling from Kathmandu to Patan was like crossing from one town to the other. There is little demarcation, with the traffic flowing from the streets of Kathmandu across the Bagmati Bridge into the industrial areas of Patan. But once you step into Darbar Square, you move into another world.